Their sound is a blend of bluegrass, southern rock, blues, Texas swing and newgrass, primarily done with acoustic instruments, although an electric guitar does show up on a couple of songs on their debut Mountain Home album — “Wherever I Wander.”

This is a band on the move.

Samantha Snyder, the band’s principal songwriter and vocalist as well as its fiddle player, is 16.

Her brother, Zeb, the guitarist and mandolin player, is 19.

Their father, Bud, plays bass for the family band.

Samantha wrote five songs. Zeb wrote three.

And there are covers of LynyrdSkynyrd’s “Swamp Music,” Dickey Betts‘ “Highway Call” and the 1918 jazz standard “After You’ve Gone.”

There are five instrumentals to showcase the trio’s picking and seven songs to showcase their vocal chops.

Samantha Snyder’s songs have an old sound to them.

Songs like the uptempo gospel title track, “A Whaler’s Song,” and “The Keeper,” a rare modern song about a lighthouse keeper.

Now, the husband-wife team are working together, making some very good bluegrass and traditional country music.

The title cut of their latest album, “Never Just A Song,” is a Tim Stafford-PamTillis tribute to the late Harley Allen, who died of lung cancer four years ago at age 55.

But the lyrics are more honest than flowery — “He gave Jim Beam a bad name before it put him in the grave.”

“Whiskey Colored Dreams” is stone country, the kind of song you might find on a jukebox that’s been in storage since the late 1950s or early 1960s. And it sounds great.

Between them, the Slaughters co-wrote eight of the tracks on the album.

“Back To Birmingham” is a song about returning to your roots.

“Company Town” is about life in a hard-scrabble mining town.

“Feelin’ Better” is an old Hank Williams Jr. song about getting his life back together.

“Go Sin No More” is a gospel song about redemption.

“Ridin’ The Lightin’, Ropin’ The Storm” is a western song about a man running from the law.

“The Best Thing We Ever Did” is a personal song about the Slaughters finding each other and having a baby. The baby, Rae Carroll Slaughter, makes her recording debut, cooing at the end of the song.

The Slaughters have a good sound and songs worth hearing more than once.

Can’t find it in stores? Try www.ShannonAndHeatherSlaughter.com.

]]>https://omibluegrass.wordpress.com/2015/02/23/shannon-and-heather-slaughter-never-just-a-song-elite-circuit-music-14-tracks/feed/0klawrenceTHE GIBSON BROTHERS, “Brotherhood,” Rounder. 15 tracks.https://omibluegrass.wordpress.com/2015/02/16/the-gibson-brothers-brotherhood-rounder-15-tracks/
https://omibluegrass.wordpress.com/2015/02/16/the-gibson-brothers-brotherhood-rounder-15-tracks/#commentsMon, 16 Feb 2015 14:04:40 +0000http://omibluegrass.wordpress.com/?p=822]]>Eric and Leigh Gibson, arguably the hottest brother act in bluegrass after winning the International Bluegrass Music Association’s entertainer of the year honors in both 2012 and 2013, celebrate some of the great brother acts in country, rock’n’roll and bluegrass music in their new album, “Brotherhood.”

The upstate New York natives cut their first album in 1993.

“Brotherhood” is album No. 12 and it’s one of their best.

Material ranges from “Eastbound Train,” written in the 1890s, to Tompall and the Glaser Brothers 1982 hit, “It’ll Be Her.”

The lineup includes the Monroe Brothers‘ “I Have Found The Way,” Phil and Don Everly‘s “Bye Bye Love” and “Crying In The Rain,” Charlie and Ira Louvin‘s “Seven Year Blues,” Jim and Jesse McReynolds‘ “Sweet Little Miss Blue Eyes,” Carter and Ralph Stanley‘s “How Mountain Girls Can Love,” the Blue Sky Boys‘ “The Sweetest Gift,” the York Brothers‘ “Long Gone,” the Church Brothers‘ “Angel With Blue Eyes,” the Four Brothers Quartet‘s “What A Wonderful Savior Is He,” the Osborne Brothers “Each Season Changes You” and the Lilly Brothers, “I’m Troubled I’m Troubled.”

“Brotherhood” shows that the Gibsons are equal to the task of matching their harmonies with some of the best brother acts in music.

The North Carolina natives released their first album, an all-gospel collection, in 2008, a few months before they were married.

Darin worked his way up through the bluegrass ranks, including a stint with the Country Gentlemen.

Brooke’s background is primarily in gospel.

But through the years, the couple has carved out a niche as the “singing sweethearts” of bluegrass.

The 11 songs on the album mostly come from bands the couple has liked or been part of in the past.

It’s a pretty even mix of sacred and secular numbers.

Sam Bush joins the Aldridges on “Get Up John,” an uptempo gospel song written by Bill Monroe, Marty Stuart and Jerry Sullivan.

Fiddle great Bobby Hicks sits in on Monroe’s “My Rose of Old Kentucky.”

Doyle Lawson lends his talents to “Let’s,” a hard-driving love song written by Eddie Adcock.

And Ricky Skaggs adds his harmonies to the gospel song, “When He Calls.”

Other songs include the Everly Brothers‘ “Let It Be Me,” Johnny Cash‘s “Tennessee Flat Top Box,” Dave Macon‘s “Wait Til The Clouds Roll By,” Gillian Welch‘s “Annabelle” and “Will You Be Ready,” written by Darin Aldridge and Bobby Jones.

But its members have spent years in other bands before becoming part of the Mafia.

“Pray For Rain,” their second album, goes on sale Feb. 10.

Dara Wray wrote three of the songs — “One Bad Day,” about a man who is one bad day away from prison; “Consider It Goodbye,” about a man who is leaving and a woman who just doesn’t care anymore; and the title track.

There’s a Tom T. and Dixie Hall song, “I Didn’t See It Coming,” about a woman who didn’t expect to lose the man she loves.

There’s a Peter Rowan song, “Moonshiner.”

And there are a couple of Ralph Stanley songs — “East Virginia Blues” and “I’m Lonesome Without You.”

There are a couple of gospel songs — “Had To Be Crippled” and “He’s In Control.”